The Secrets of Ghosts

by Sarah Painter

  ‘Please,’ Gwen said.

  Katie stood in front of the fridge. ‘What’s Pimm’s like? That’s a summer drink, isn’t it?’

  ‘Why are you so calm?’ Gwen said. ‘You’re bringing ghosts to life.’

  ‘I was,’ Katie said. ‘I’m not any more. Not unless I want to.’

  Gwen looked worried. ‘I was thinking about Lily. She died a violent death. She might have hung around.’

  ‘And she was psychotic,’ Katie said. ‘Don’t forget that. Perfect ghost material.’

  ‘That’s not good,’ Gwen said, sitting down.

  ‘I told you. Not going to happen. I can feel the energy now. I’m not going to let it leak out. I’m not going to bring Lily or anybody else back. Not by accident, at any rate.’

  ‘You’re scaring me a little right now,’ Gwen said.

  ‘You just need a drink.’ Katie stopped mixing and passed the glass to Gwen, who grabbed it like a drowning woman and took a long sip.

  Katie tried some as well. It was nice. Refreshing. Sweet without being sickly. She took a longer drink.

  ‘Hannah said it wasn’t like a tap, though, that you could run out. You must be careful—’

  ‘I know. I’m giving away chunks of my own life. You can’t make energy. That’s basic physics.’

  Gwen shook her head. ‘I think it might be best if we don’t tell Ruby and David.’

  Katie laughed. ‘You think?’ She drank some more of her Pimm’s, picturing her mum and dad lying on matching sun loungers on the deck of a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. ‘I’m so glad they missed this.’

  ‘I’ll drink to that,’ Gwen said and they clinked glasses. Gwen was still worrying; Katie could see the line between her eyebrows getting deeper and deeper.

  ‘I promise I’ll be careful. You know me.’

  Gwen yawned and covered her mouth quickly. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘You’re exhausted,’ Cam said from the doorway. ‘Come on.’ He led Gwen into the living room and made her lie on the sofa. He took her drink and passed it to Katie to hold. ‘We’ll be right next door.’

  In the kitchen he dumped Gwen’s glass on the side and said, ‘She’s been so worried and we didn’t get much sleep last night—’

  ‘Ew, too much information,’ Katie said. She was only joking but Cam blushed deep red and Katie wished she hadn’t said anything. Instead she downed her drink and enjoyed the warm glow it spread through her. Finally, she could see the appeal of alcohol. She leaned against the counter, looking around Gwen’s kitchen and feeling so relaxed and sleepy that her eyes slipped out of focus. In that instant, it was like seeing a slightly different scene. Or, the same scene but with an overlay. She could see a spark of yellow light inside Cam and a grey mass of past life moving gently through the air around them. It was like doing a magic eye picture when it suddenly flipped from a two-dimensional pattern to a three-dimensional image. She blinked and her vision returned to normal. She went to the living room to check on Gwen.

  Gwen was still asleep on the sofa and Katie pulled the crochet blanket from the back and draped it over her. Gwen didn’t so much as flutter an eyelid. She really must be exhausted.

  Katie waited for the stab of guilt, but it didn’t come. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She hadn’t fucked up. Things might not have gone perfectly but she hadn’t been a silly kid; she hadn’t been a victim.

  Cam was in the doorway. ‘Tea?’ he whispered, making a tipping gesture with his hand, as if drinking from a mug.

  Katie nodded. ‘Just a sec.’ She pulled the blanket, straightening it over Gwen’s legs. She checked that Cam had gone, listened for sounds of him in the kitchen. She put her hand lightly on the blanket, approximately in the middle of Gwen’s sleeping form, and closed her eyes.

  She could feel it. Now that she’d done it once, she could sense it there, curled up inside. She liked to picture it as a ball of light, something positive, but in truth it didn’t feel positive or negative. It just was. A raw, primeval thing. The thing that people meant when they talked about ‘life force’ or ‘will to live’ or ‘grit’. The thing that kept the elderly breathing long after they’d prefer to call it a day. The thing that made babies, so tiny they could fit into the palm of your hand, swallow a droplet of milk.

  Katie pictured a piece of light breaking away from that glowing sphere, pictured it as a tiny spark of light that travelled down her arm, into her hand and out through her fingers into Gwen. She pictured it nesting somewhere inside Gwen, somewhere it could take root.

  Katie opened her eyes. Gwen was still breathing deeply. Still fast asleep. There was no way to know whether it had worked, or how many years of her own life Katie had just given up, but Katie knew it didn’t matter. Either way, it was worth it. Besides, she was a Harper. She had to help if she could.

  The next day, Katie met Max at the hotel. The day was grey and cool, the grass wet and muddy from the storm.

  They walked through the winding paths of the lower garden, along the beech-tree-lined ‘lady’s walk’ and into the maze-like layout of thick hedges and rambling flower beds. Every so often, the hedges opened up to reveal a little circle of lawn with crumbling statuary or a broken fountain. Max was telling her about Laura. They’d been together for five months and things had been going badly for four of those.

  ‘You don’t have to tell me,’ Katie said. ‘It’s in the past.’

  ‘I want to,’ Max said. ‘I don’t want you to think it was some great love story or anything. I just felt so guilty. I walked away from that accident with barely a scratch. It wasn’t fair.’

  ‘It was an accident.’

  ‘She was screaming in my ear. It was dark. The road was slippery,’ Max said, his voice flat. ‘They’re just excuses. She still died.’

  ‘You know Barton was lying, though, right?’

  ‘I know he didn’t get a message.’ Max squeezed Katie’s hand. ‘And I’m glad I got the new perspective on conning. I mean, it was what I was brought up to do. I was running scams in primary school, but I always thought I was a good guy. That if I stuck to the rules, I wasn’t truly bad, but getting caught by Barton…’ He trailed off and shrugged. ‘It didn’t feel good.’

  ‘I know.’ Katie reached out and hugged him close. After a moment, they broke apart and carried on walking.

  ‘How are you doing now? About Laura?’ Katie was wondering whether she should offer to try a séance or a spell or whether a real message from Laura might make Max feel worse, not better.

  ‘You don’t have to worry about me,’ Max said. ‘I’m always all right.’

  ‘You are such a liar,’ Katie said, smiling to soften the words.

  Max shrugged. ‘I thought I’d feel better. Relieved or something, but I don’t.’

  ‘Give it time.’

  ‘I’m going to feel guilty for a while longer, I think.’ Max put his hands on Katie’s waist and pulled her closer. He was smiling now, looking like his old self. ‘You could always distract me. You know, if you wanted to help.’

  ‘I think a bit of guilt won’t do you any harm at all.’

  ‘Harsh,’ Max said, and kissed her.

  *

  By the weekend, everything had calmed down. Anna had stopped asking Katie whether there were any ghosts in the room and Gwen had stopped looking at her as if she were about to sprout horns.

  Cam and Max had even been out for a bonding drink at The Red Lion and Cam had pronounced Max ‘suitable-ish’.

  Katie took Max to meet Fred Byres and on the way back they called into End House.

  ‘How was he?’ Gwen said.

  ‘Gardening. He says his roses have never looked better.’ Katie didn’t mention that Fred was no longer even using his bifocals; Gwen would only worry.

  ‘Did you see the Haunted Hotels website?’

  ‘What did Patrick do?’

  ‘Got The Grange listed. The town council is going nuts.’ Gwen nudged Cam. ‘I’ve never seen Elaine so angry and that’s saying
something.’

  ‘I know,’ Cam said. ‘I give Patrick a week before he takes it down.’

  ‘Still,’ Gwen said, ‘it might be a good time to take a little time off.’

  ‘I could do with a holiday,’ Katie said. That picture of her parents lying in the sun had stayed with her. She could fancy some of that. And maybe a drink with one of those paper umbrellas.

  ‘You deserve one,’ Gwen said.

  ‘Shall we show her?’ Cam said. ‘Come outside.’

  ‘Ta-da!’ Gwen spread her arms wide with a flourish. ‘Bob gave her a complete overhaul.’

  ‘Bob the barman?’ Katie said. ‘At The Red Lion?’

  ‘Bob the camper-van-obsessed barman, yes,’ Gwen said. ‘The man’s a genius with engines. Nanette has never sounded so good.’

  ‘Nanette?’ Max said, looking nonplussed.

  ‘You’re going to let me drive Nanette?’ Katie felt tears threaten.

  ‘She’s all yours, honeybunch,’ Gwen said. ‘I don’t use her any more and she’s getting all bored and lonely.’

  ‘But—’

  Cam put an arm around Gwen and kissed the top of her head. He smiled at Katie and said, ‘Take some time off. Have a gap year.’

  Katie felt her throat close up. It was so nice of them, but... ‘I can’t take a year. I’ve signed a contract to live with Anna. I’ve got to work out what I’m doing next. I might do a course, or something. I can’t—’

  ‘I knew you’d say that,’ Cam said. ‘Just for a few weeks. Take a trip, have some fun. Or use the time to work out whatever it is you feel you need to work out. Everything will still be here when you get back.’

  Katie let out a breath. ‘That is amazing.’ She threw her arms around Cam and Gwen. ‘Thank you, thank you.’

  ‘Where will you go?’ Gwen said.

  ‘Paris, Barcelona, Prague, Rome, Venice,’ Katie said. ‘Everywhere.’

  ‘Maybe avoid the catacombs, though,’ Gwen said.

  Katie wanted to tell her that the dead were everywhere. Graveyards and catacombs were no busier than the average high street, but maybe that was information she didn’t really need.

  Cam hugged her and then stepped away, towards Max. ‘You’re going with her, yes?’

  ‘Um,’ Max said.

  ‘You don’t have to,’ Katie said, trying not to feel as if she’d been punched.

  ‘He is,’ Cam said. He stuck out his hand. ‘Best of luck.’

  ‘Hey!’ Katie said as Max warily shook Cam’s hand.

  Gwen smiled. ‘I’m relying on you to make sure she has some fun, okay?’

  ‘No problem,’ Max said. He put an arm around Katie’s shoulders.

  Cam opened his mouth, but Max said, ‘I know, I know. If I hurt her you’ll have me killed.’

  ‘Oh, son.’ Cam shook his head. ‘Not only is that girl clever and beautiful and twenty-one years old, she’s the latest in a very long line of witches and it appears she has power over life and death. I reckon I’m the least of your worries.’ And then he smiled. Widely.

  *

  Once Gwen and Cam had gone back into the house, Katie gave Max the guided tour of the van. Gwen had reupholstered the bed settee and had fitted beautiful wooden drawers and cupboards along one wall. ‘I can’t believe she’s given me Nanette,’ Katie said.

  ‘Me neither,’ Max said, not looking quite as thrilled as Katie thought Nanette deserved.

  ‘Where do you want to go?’ Katie said. ‘How about France? Or Italy?’

  ‘If you think this rust bucket will get us that far,’ Max said.

  ‘Don’t be rude,’ Katie said, patting the van. ‘You’ll hurt her feelings.’

  ‘Weirdo,’ Max said, with affection. Then, ‘I suppose we’ve got enough cash for repairs, anyway. Even after I’ve paid off my debts, I’ve still got plenty of cash from my dad’s watch.’

  Katie felt cold. She’d forgotten about poor Oliver Cole. ‘That’s something I don’t understand. Why is he at peace? I never gave him his watch back.’

  ‘Maybe it was just the thought that he’d left ten grand’s worth of jewellery in his wash bag. Maybe he knew what his wife would do and he couldn’t stand the thought of it being chucked out. I mean, if I’d left ten grand lying around, it’d prey on my mind, too.’ Max pulled Katie to him. ‘Or, it wasn’t really the watch he wanted. Maybe he just wanted someone to know how he died.’

  ‘You mean, he was just saying “watch”.’ Katie thought about the dreams, how she had repeatedly watched Oliver Cole die without understanding what had happened. Now it felt obvious: it had been Alexander trying out his first possession. A practice-run. She could imagine him drifting into Oliver Cole and just staying there to see what happened. She sat down. ‘You know I brought the ghosts into life? Does that mean I killed Mr Cole?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I think it was Alexander testing out his powers. I think that’s what gave Oliver Cole his heart attack.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  Katie shook her head. ‘He was so cold. Like he’d been in a freezer. You know what that means. If I hadn’t been at The Grange, Mr Cole would never have died.’

  ‘Doesn’t make it your fault.’

  Katie leaned against Max and rested her head on his shoulder. She’d always thought you needed to have all the information, all the knowledge, and that way you could protect yourself from ever making a mistake. Now she knew that wasn’t possible. Didn’t matter how hard you tried, you could never be sure you knew everything. Instead, she took comfort from the feel of Max’s arm around her shoulders, the diesel-and-herb smell of Nanette and the warm light of her power, curled up inside.

  ‘So,’ she said, after a moment, ‘you got your watch back?’

  ‘Don’t worry. I paid for it,’ Max said. ‘They only had it marked up at two fifty, so I made a donation, too.’ He looked at her, anxious for approval.

  Katie touched his cheek, wanted to wipe away the uncertainty. ‘You did good.’

  ‘I don’t want you getting the wrong idea of my reformed character. It was still only a fraction of what it was worth,’ Max said. ‘If I was being truly good, I would’ve told them so they could’ve made full whack.’

  ‘It’s a grey area,’ Katie said. ‘It did belong to you in the first place.’

  ‘I’m sick of the grey area,’ Max said, turning so that his face was close to hers. ‘I’ve lived my whole life swimming in it, but I want that to change. I want to be with you and being with you makes me want to be a better person.’

  ‘That’s good, but I’m glad you kept some of the money.’

  Max put his hands on her waist and looked into her eyes. ‘Really?’

  ‘Really,’ Katie said, enjoying the sensation of his hands holding her. ‘You can use it for university fees if you decide you want to study maths or to start a business or go travelling or whatever you want. Fresh start. And, if there’s enough left over, you can take me out for that dinner.’

  ‘I did ask you out about a hundred years ago, didn’t I?’

  ‘You did,’ Katie said, moving closer. ‘But I forgive you. You’ve been busy.’

  ‘I really like you,’ Max said. He looked so uncertain. ‘A lot.’

  ‘I know.’ Katie smiled up at him, drinking in the sight of his upturned mouth, the warmth in his eyes. So what if he had a dodgy past? No one was perfect.

  ‘And if we still like each other after four months in this tin can, I reckon I should stick around.’

  ‘Is that right?’ Katie said, happiness spreading through her like sunshine.

  Max smiled. ‘Trust me.’

  CARINA™

  ISBN: 978 1 472 05480 7

  The Secrets of Ghosts

  Copyright © 2014 Sarah Painter

  Published in Great Britain (2014)

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